當地時間3月3日，一位華盛頓州西雅圖的網友發佈的疫情求救帖引起了大量關注…
她懷疑自己感染新冠病毒，想接受核酸試劑檢測卻四處碰壁，求助無門。
她說嘗試與多家醫院聯繫，醫院都告訴她無法進行檢測也不知在哪兒能檢測。而在她撥打新冠肺炎熱線後，對方通知她鑑於她沒有旅行及密切接觸史，不滿足核酸檢驗的條件。
有網友回帖：有症狀的人測不了，也沒有新冠肺炎相關的求助機制，然後生病的人只能等到快不行了才能被救治，所以西雅圖才傳播的這麼快吧。
西雅圖東部郊區的一位叫Darcy Burner官員也在推特上反映了一系列當地的情況，例如當地醫院已經人滿為患，都是沒報上去的患者，感染的人數正成倍激增等等問題。
根據美國媒體報道，最新數據顯示美國累計報告感染新冠肺炎的確診病例158例，11人死亡，其中10例在華盛頓州。
3月1日有美國專家曾表示，根據華盛頓州兩例病例的基因序列研究顯示，新冠病毒或已在美國社區傳播長達六週…
核酸檢測的難題
數字還在不斷的更新，儘管疫情形勢如此嚴峻，核酸檢測卻成了巨大的難題。
一天不及時檢測排查患者，就意味著更多的人將會被感染。
一方面有很多像求助的網友一樣找不到可以檢測的機構，或者症狀達不到可以檢測的條件。
最早的時候，只有過去14天內去過中國或者直接接觸過新冠肺炎患者的人才能接受檢測。直到出現無旅行史，無接觸史的患者後，才適當放寬標準。
The death toll from the infection has risen to 11 in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, including 10 in Washington state and one in California. There are 158 novel coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to local media.
The need for testing became urgent as the first COVID-19 patient with no travel history and no exposure to confirmed cases was identified last week.
Most labs follow a stringent criteria that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) set up to determine who could be tested. Before the first case of unknown origin was reported, only those who had traveled to China in the past 14 days of developing symptoms and those who had contact with coronavirus patients were eligible for testing.
The high bar set for COVID-19 testing meant that those with mild symptoms were denied access.
A delay in testing means the virus may now be circulating undetected in communities across the country, which significantly increases the likelihood of cross-infection.
與此同時，一線的醫生也表示，他們也沒辦法，連檢測試劑都沒有，面對病人也只能乾著急。
3月2日，在CNBC的訪談上，紐約長老會醫院的醫生馬特·麥卡錫說他們一線醫生手頭仍沒有可以快速檢測新冠病毒的試劑，以至於“不得不懇求”政府讓他們給病人做新冠檢測。
麥卡錫說，在紐約州，僅僅檢測的32人中就發現了第一個病例。而現在都已經三月了，還是沒拿到可用的試劑。
“這是國家級醜聞！”
“有些國家每天能檢測上萬人，但我們現在還做不到，”他說。
其實早在一月，德國的研究團隊已經研發短時間內能檢測新冠病毒的方法，但是美國疾控中心 (CDC) 表示我們不用…
二月中旬，CDC向州和地方衛生實驗室發放了數百套自主研發的核酸試劑，然而發現生產缺陷又召回，所以二月份的病毒檢測幾乎停止…
In the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, only U.S. state public labs were allowed to conduct COVID-19 testing. Local hospitals, if they wanted to test for the virus, needed to validate their test with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a lengthy onerous process that is likely to take a few days.
Faulty test kits also delayed public health officials' response. The 200 test kits sent by the CDC in early February to public health labs were later announced to be flawed. All samples were required to be sent to the central CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, which significantly delayed the diagnosis and treatment process.
Data from the CDC shows that as of March 1, one in one million were tested for COVID-19 in the U.S. In comparison, in South Korea, it was 2,138 per million, and in Italy, 386 per million.
面對檢測難愈演愈烈的批評聲，據美聯社北京時間3月4日報道，美國副總統終於宣佈CDC將發佈新的指導方針，明確規定“任何美國人都可以接受檢查，不受任何限制，聽從醫囑”。
美國食品藥物監督管理局（FDA）局長斯蒂芬·哈恩也表示，在私人公司和學術研究中心的幫助下，到本週末將能夠進行100萬次新冠病毒測試。
記者會過後，CDC宣佈網站不再更新接受檢測、以及檢測結果為陰性的人數。給出的理由是由各個州統計數據更具代表性。
At a press conference on Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence announced that the CDC is going to lift all restrictions on COVID-19 testing. Any American can be tested for COVID-19 subject to doctors' orders, according to Pence.
Following the nation-wide call for more testing, and as the fear of community transmission increases, the CDC began shipping test kits to private labs across the country. Hundreds of academic hospital labs are authorized to offer coronavirus testing, while commercial companies are also encouraged to develop their own testing kits.
2,500 test kits with a capacity of up to 500 tests each will be supplied to laboratories by the end of Friday, able to perform up to one million coronavirus tests, according to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn.
誰來給民眾買單？
眾所周知美國的醫療費用很高，若開放核酸檢測，那誰會為這次的疫情買單？
首先是有保險的人，目前情況下，公共實驗室的檢測將免費，彭斯還宣佈將疫情相關項目加入保險範圍。私人機構看病的費用將正常報銷。但治療費，個人可能仍要負擔不少。
比如說有一個之前從武漢撤回美國接受隔離的人，他收到了醫院超過3000美元的帳單。
But as the availability of test kits increase, costs associated with the tests also become a problem. Those with medical insurance can have their testing cost covered just as other type of care. For tests conducted in public labs, no cost will be incurred. But as the CDC announced that it would work with commercial firms to expand testing, private companies may issue separate bills for the test.
But even if testing is free, other associated costs may not be. The U.S. health care system has already come under fire in recent days for charging hefty bills for government-mandated quarantines. According to the New York Times report, among a dozen Americans flown back from Wuhan and quarantined in the U.S., one was charged for over 3,000 U.S. dollars for his hospital visit.
而更值得關注的是美國那2750萬沒有醫保的人，如若感染，他們將面臨鉅額的醫藥費。
如果因為害怕要支付鉅額費用而避免就診，他們會不會就此錯過治療機會。
如果是這樣，這不僅意味著更多的人將被感染，也意味著更多的死亡將悄無聲息的發生…
面對這樣的提問，彭斯在當天的記者會上並沒有回答，而是直接轉身離開了。
For the 27.5 million uninsured in the U.S., they may have no choice but to foot an exorbitantly high medical bill, including costs of visiting the doctors' office and emergency room cost. The concern is that the uninsured would skip treatment for fear of its overwhelming cost and thus miss the chance for early treatment.
It is increasingly the case that the burdens of COVID-19 are falling disproportionately on those who are vulnerable because of their economic, social and health status. To remove the financial barrier for people to go and get screened at the hospital would be key to containing the spread of the virus.
病毒不分國界，不管是信息公開也好，檢測和治療保障政策也好，事實證明，不僅要說到，還要做到才能真正的解決問題。
如果滿分100分，你給美國政府的疫情防控措施打幾分？
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